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This is my first post, but I've trolled the AVS Forums for years and this is the first time I haven't been able to search and find a solution to my particular problem.
I'm the semi-proud owner of a new Panasonic 50PZ80 TV. Unfortunately, I've encountered a large problem in using it with my HTPC. Currently I have a Windows MCE box that I have hooked up to the HDMI 1 port with a DVI-to-HDMI cable. If I turn the screen on, then power up the computer, the image loads and everything displays fine and great. (I do love the picture, by the way.) If however, I turn on the PC before I turn on the TV, the TV will fail to recognize the video signal, and will flash an error code on the power light. (I'm not sure the exact code, but I believe it flashes 10 times.) The problem with this is that I cannot have the PC on beforehand or leave it running and then turn on the TV.
I contacted Panasonic technical support about this. Their somewhat knowledgeable (but rather rude) staff informed me that this has to do with the fact that the "TV was not made to be used as a monitor.", and that this was a, "known issue." I pried a little more and I was told the following that I will try to summarize to the best of my ability:
I was told that the HDMI 1 and 2 ports (on the back of the TV) are different than the HDMI 3 port (on the front of the TV). I believe they said that port 3 was unbuffered while the other two were buffered. (This could be vice versa.) They suggested that I try to hook the PC up to port 3 and the PC may work there. I did so, and they were right, I can turn the TV on and off with the HTPC plugged into port 3. They went on to say something about a "3.3V signal" that from what I could interpret was used to tell the TV to wake up or sync up.
Naturally though, with my sleek new TV that is very cleanly wall mounted with no visible wiring, leaving a PC attached through the front panel is not an acceptable solution. This leaves me with four options that I have come up with in an attempt to remedy my situation:
1) The HTPC that I have is (admittedly) somewhat old. The graphics card in it is a GeForce 6800GT AGP. It has two DVI outputs on it. I was already planning on upgrading my HTPC sometime in the near future, and in doing so, I was going to either get a motherboard with onboard HDMI or a video card with native HDMI. Is it possible that this will fix my problem? My assumption is that in going with a video card or motherboard with native HDMI, it will be HDMI standards compliant. I am assuming that conformance to these standards will address the issue that I am having. Again, this is an assumption, I don't know if it will work.
2) Purchase an AV receiver that handles HDMI switching. It is my hope that the AV receiver will be able to handle the DVI-to-HDMI cable and output the necessary (buffered or unbuffered, whichever is correct) signal to the normal HDMI 1 and 2 ports.
3) Purchase an HDMI switcher that may perform the same task as the AV receiver. Although I would only have one device attached, I hope that the switcher will be able to provide the necessary "wake up" signal to the TV.
4) I've seen it recommended to try Gefen's DVI Detective to remember the EDID. I've heard it resolves "handshake issues" which it sounds like what I'm having.
Also, one of their suggestions was to use an HDMI to HDMI adapter (a union, basically) which I just can't fathom how that could possibly work. Its just a 1:1 adapter from all I can tell and I can't see how that's any different than just using a DVI-to-HDMI cable.
I'm sorry for the long winded post, but I'm completely stumped. I searched the forums' tome of knowledge and couldn't find anything that fit my particular problem. Thanks in advance to all who can provide input.
Dustin Earnhardt
I'm the semi-proud owner of a new Panasonic 50PZ80 TV. Unfortunately, I've encountered a large problem in using it with my HTPC. Currently I have a Windows MCE box that I have hooked up to the HDMI 1 port with a DVI-to-HDMI cable. If I turn the screen on, then power up the computer, the image loads and everything displays fine and great. (I do love the picture, by the way.) If however, I turn on the PC before I turn on the TV, the TV will fail to recognize the video signal, and will flash an error code on the power light. (I'm not sure the exact code, but I believe it flashes 10 times.) The problem with this is that I cannot have the PC on beforehand or leave it running and then turn on the TV.
I contacted Panasonic technical support about this. Their somewhat knowledgeable (but rather rude) staff informed me that this has to do with the fact that the "TV was not made to be used as a monitor.", and that this was a, "known issue." I pried a little more and I was told the following that I will try to summarize to the best of my ability:
I was told that the HDMI 1 and 2 ports (on the back of the TV) are different than the HDMI 3 port (on the front of the TV). I believe they said that port 3 was unbuffered while the other two were buffered. (This could be vice versa.) They suggested that I try to hook the PC up to port 3 and the PC may work there. I did so, and they were right, I can turn the TV on and off with the HTPC plugged into port 3. They went on to say something about a "3.3V signal" that from what I could interpret was used to tell the TV to wake up or sync up.
Naturally though, with my sleek new TV that is very cleanly wall mounted with no visible wiring, leaving a PC attached through the front panel is not an acceptable solution. This leaves me with four options that I have come up with in an attempt to remedy my situation:
1) The HTPC that I have is (admittedly) somewhat old. The graphics card in it is a GeForce 6800GT AGP. It has two DVI outputs on it. I was already planning on upgrading my HTPC sometime in the near future, and in doing so, I was going to either get a motherboard with onboard HDMI or a video card with native HDMI. Is it possible that this will fix my problem? My assumption is that in going with a video card or motherboard with native HDMI, it will be HDMI standards compliant. I am assuming that conformance to these standards will address the issue that I am having. Again, this is an assumption, I don't know if it will work.
2) Purchase an AV receiver that handles HDMI switching. It is my hope that the AV receiver will be able to handle the DVI-to-HDMI cable and output the necessary (buffered or unbuffered, whichever is correct) signal to the normal HDMI 1 and 2 ports.
3) Purchase an HDMI switcher that may perform the same task as the AV receiver. Although I would only have one device attached, I hope that the switcher will be able to provide the necessary "wake up" signal to the TV.
4) I've seen it recommended to try Gefen's DVI Detective to remember the EDID. I've heard it resolves "handshake issues" which it sounds like what I'm having.
Also, one of their suggestions was to use an HDMI to HDMI adapter (a union, basically) which I just can't fathom how that could possibly work. Its just a 1:1 adapter from all I can tell and I can't see how that's any different than just using a DVI-to-HDMI cable.
I'm sorry for the long winded post, but I'm completely stumped. I searched the forums' tome of knowledge and couldn't find anything that fit my particular problem. Thanks in advance to all who can provide input.
Dustin Earnhardt